Walk into Gibson and the hustle and the bustle of the outside world immediately melts away as you’re transported to another era. When you step into Gibson inside of the Hotel Bijou, the first thing you’ll notice is how glamorous it feels (especially for San Francisco).
The look leans heavily on Art Deco with lots of gorgeous tile, shiny gold accents, and leather booths and banquettes. But if you look a little closer you’ll get your first clue that Gibson doesn’t take itself too seriously. For inspiration, the designers played off the hotel’s name, from an era when Bijou was one of the most popular names for a movie house. The mural on the ceiling, Michelangelo meets street art-style, courtesy of Italian artist, Marco Battaglini is surrounded by clear bulbs reminiscent of a marquee.
In place of a movie screen there’s a kitchen completely open to the dining room, similar to Chez Panisse and Saison. Diners don’t need a ticket to view the action at the stove and the glowing live fire where many dishes are cooked. Diners can watch the eight chefs, all dressed in blue shirts, jeans and dark wool aprons with leather straps, as they execute the eclectic small-plate menu. The restaurant has already been lauded by local critics and food blogs as the next hot thing. This spot has snuck into downtown, gracing the Hotel Bijou with a new destination for contemporary American dining.
Walking into Gibson is like stumbling into the ‘20s. It’s a hip, elegant throwback spot with Art Decostyle finishes, antique mirrors, decorative ceiling layered with images of the renaissance and graffiti, and a constant golden glow from antique lighting fixtures. Patrons tipping their heads back to take a drink in Gibson also take in this jaw-dropping sight: a ceiling mural featuring cherubs sporting tattoos and Calvin Klein briefs.
That work is by Costa Rican artist Marco Battaglini, who combines a rococo salon painting style with contemporary imagery, advertising references, street art and graffiti. Battaglini, in turn, was commissioned to create the mural by Charles Doell, principal of Oakland, California- based Mr.
Important Design. Doell was brought in by the hotel’s owners to turn the former back-ofhouse space into a 2,450-sq.-ft. restaurant/bar that wound up bearing the surname of Charles Dana Gibson. He is an American graphic artist best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, a famed representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century.
“The most difficult part of including features like the ceiling mural that may be viewed as unconventional is getting clients onboard,” says Doell. “Typically they are allergic to any element that might offend, confuse or in any way be controversial. But as a designer, I love the off-beat element, the mix of styles that don’t necessarily hew to a given time period or contemporary interior style.” In this instance, the designer used the mural as the centerpiece of the restaurant’s interior. “As expected, there was talk in the ownership group of removing the artwork’s graffiti element.
Fortunately, the owners grew to love the piece and it remained intact. It remains a bit of an oddity, as neo-contemporary rococo art is not deco—which another major element of the restaurant’s aesthetics—but that’s what I love most about the space.” Doell is sanguine about the mural’s impact on the space. “The funny thing about controversial features is that once installed, they don’t seem so controversial anymore. Happens all the time.”
